Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
CAELAN
I’d never get tired of watching Evie commune with the earth.
Her hair fell dark and loose around her shoulders, a wind I couldn’t feel making the strands dance in the air.
Magic the color of watermelon tourmaline swirled around her, roots snaking from the ground to curl up her calves.
She was Earth incarnate, Mother Earth given form.
A serene smile stole over her face, her lips slightly parted, and her cheeks flushed with color.
Goosebumps had risen over her skin, the chill in the air growing as the sun set.
I shifted back to human form, careful not to disturb her communion.
No trace of Gianna existed in this place.
Yet an odd resonance pulsed through the land, warning trespassers something terrible had occurred here.
Whatever Evie had done, she’d succeeded.
It was almost like my short-term fiancée had never existed.
I never liked the woman, and she’d never liked me, but many powerful partnerships were formed regardless of whether the spouses liked each other. Pity was my dominant emotion.
Her family would never be able to lay her bones to rest, but Evie had given her a warrior’s send-off, returning her bones to the world that had borne her.
I dressed quickly and sat before Evie, not close enough to disturb her, but close enough to make her bitch at me when she opened her eyes. A smile curled my lips. Magic washed over me, strong enough that my sleeping wolf cracked an eye open in curiosity and stretched languidly.
Her power always soothed the wild beast living inside my body, bringing me a peace I’d never felt before. Hers was the magic of green things of life and growth, where mine would always be rooted in violence and power.
I shifted position to watch as Evie’s magic soaked into the place that once held Gianna’s violent grave, tourmaline colored magic spiraling up around the surrounding plant life before shattering in a rainbow of light.
Storm clouds rolled over the sky, stopping to center over our heads.
The wind stilled, but Evie’s hair kept dancing.
An unnatural rumble of thunder sounded through the clearing, and a chill touched my spine at the power such a small woman could hold within her body.
Did she know she could command the skies, or was this an odd side effect of what she was doing?
A cool drizzle touched my skin, soft but steady. Evie’s brow furrowed, magic swirling around her like a maelstrom. She lifted her head, neck tilted back, water pouring down her skin.
I swallowed hard, desire roaring through my veins at how primal she looked.
Thunder clapped, a crack of sound in her woods. Seconds after, lightning streaked through the sky, arcing right toward Evie.